The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-05-28
NEW YoRK's BIG FIRE.
Over Fourteen HUNDRED Horses
Roasted to Death
A Number of Tenement Houses
In Ashes.
And Very Many Poor. Families. Left
Homeless.

NEW YORK, May 27.-The largest fire that
has taken place in New York for many wears
broke out at 1.30 o'elock:this morning in the
car stables of the Belt line horse railroad on
the west side of the 18th avenue between
SD and 54th streets.
The car stables with all their contents
were completely destroyed. Over 14OO horses
perished in the flames. One hundred and
thirty cars and large quantity of harnesses
feed and other material were burned Only
forty horses were saved out of 1900 in the
stables. The building occupied the whole
front on the west iside of 10th avenue and
extended down sod and 54th streets half way
to 1lth avenue. The building was three
stories high.
The fire was discovered in the cellar in the
extreme western end of the stables, and
spread so rapidly that it was impossible to
enter the building to save the horses. When
the fremen arrived the whole building was
in flames and the heat was so intense that
they could not approach close enough to be
of any service to save the premises from de-
struction.
The heat set fire to row of frame tene-
ments and stables on the south side of sd
| street and in few minutes the whole was
| blazing. Then the flames leaped across SD
| street and set fire to six story silk factory,
a new building which extended through to
| BOTH street. A row of flats and tenement
houses east of the silk factory next took fire
| and the flames spread so rapidly that the
| tenants had barely time to escape with their
lives. In some cases the firemen were COM
PEELED to tear down back fences to enable
tenants to escape, as it was impossible for
them to leave by the front doors ON account
Of the heat. The five story brick tenement
on the northwest corner of 54th street and
10th avenue was next destroyed. A row Of
frame buildings, eight in all, and from two
to three stories high on the east side of 10th
avenue were the next to be destroyed by the
flames.
The first alarm was sent out by the watch
man in the car stables and this was soon fol-
lowed by the three skies" signal which
brought engines from every part of the city.
flames which were assuming alarming pro-
portions. AT one time it looked as il they
would battle the efforts of the whole fire de-
partment. Fortunately the western wall of
the stable was unusually thick, made so for
the purpose of resisting the fire. This stayed
the fire from extending beyond the stable to
1lth avenue. 1t was impossible to pass
through either SD or 54th streets in a line
with the fire and the firemen made their
stand in the rear of the buildings ON fire to
streets.
The buildings destroyed, besides the car
stables and silk factory, are a row of apart
ment houses on 54th street and the frame
buildings on SD street and on 10th avenue.
The entire equipment of the Belt line road
is destroyed, and the loss to the company
will reach $500,000. The loss on the other
property destroyed will amount to as much
more.
When the fire broke out the entire stock
CT horses owned by the company, both sick
and WELL nearly 1900 in all, were in their
stalls on the second and Ethird floors of the
building. The employees of the company
who were about the building made desper-
ate effort to release them, but the rapid
spread OF the flames prevented this. Watch
men ran up the run way and in the few mo-
ments that they had released and drove into
the street about 40 of the frightened animals
and then they were compelled to abandon
the rest to their fate and fly for their own
lives.
All buildings on the south side of the
street opposite the stables were DESTROYED
These consisted of small wooden buildings
occupied by. families who were with great
difficulty driven into the street in time to
save their lives Streets in the neighbor-
hood were packed with household goods
which the tenants had succeeded in carrying
out. Homeless people stood around guard
ing their goods and bemoaning their losses
Last estimates show that the loss will not
be covered by one million dollars. There
was one life loss in the fire, Mrs. Elizabeth
Walsh, aged rs.